Amiqus, is the UK’s most trusted staff and client onboarding platform, partnering with governments, regulators and supporting hundreds of regulated organisations to meet the most robust compliance requirements expected of them. It was ranked as one of the fastest growing tech companies by Deloitte’s Fast 50 for 2022 and 2023. The company pitched at EIE 16, 17 and 19. CEO, Callum Murray, says there’s nothing else quite like EIE in the UK.
Thanks to initiatives like EIE, there’s a strong but fairly informal founder network across Scotland. As part of that there’s a tech founders WhatsApp group with a couple of hundred people on it. When I spotted EIE was back in-person, I reshared the info to help spread the word.
I was first involved with EIE in 2016 but we were at a very early stage. I saw the value in the programme from that first year as a participant but didn’t really make the most of it. In 2017, I was accepted back and won ‘Pitch of the Day’, winning that title again in 2019 with the audience vote also going to Amiqus. It’s a bit odd reflecting on what it meant to us at the time and raising our profile but cumulatively, EIE has certainly been a major factor in our success.
I didn’t expect to leave the EIE events I attended with a cheque in my hand, it was about so much more than that.
We had raised a modest amount of angel investment by the time we attended EIE in 2019. In addition, we had already met our first investor (US tech investor, Fifth Era Fund) in London before I got involved with EIE, but it was only after pitching at the event that they showed real interest. The production quality of the staging of the event is excellent with the team producing some fantastic video content to help promote Amiqus. I was then able to share that film reel and pitch with Fifth Era and it clearly painted a very positive picture for them.
This is where the value of EIE lies. It’s the stage, literally and figuratively, they give you that makes the big difference. It is as well organised and delivered as any investment readiness event we’ve attended anywhere and the support you receive in preparing for your pitch, as well as the access EIE gives you to support organisations and fellow founders and entrepreneurs, is invaluable in helping you improve your proposition. The Scottish tech ecosystem is a great network of like-minded people and to be able to share knowledge and learnings with them has been really important as I’ve continued to progress and scale Amiqus into one of the fastest growing businesses in the UK. .
The investment didn’t come in straight away, but as I said, I didn’t expect that. It was the cumulative effect of pitching at three events and the connections I made as a result which supported relationship building, learning and development of our approach over time. Even if an investor doesn’t put cash in your hand, there’s a clear monetary value to being involved in EIE.
The coaching I received in preparing for my pitch gave me the confidence to take to the stage elsewhere. At a similar time to EIE we won three different Scottish Edge categories and a Civtech Scotland Challenge with the Scottish Government which catapulted us into the public sector. I was able to apply the new skills I’d learnt to winning real business and clients on a day to day basis.
EIE really gave me an early sense of validation that we had something significant to offer. Being amongst a group of the most promising early-stage technology businesses in the country was a hugely positive experience.
With EIE, you get out what you put in. The work in preparing your pitch is disproportionate to the time you get to deliver it so preparing properly is key. The American author Mark Twain famously said, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead”. It reflects the idea that brevity and clarity require careful thought and editing, whereas a longer piece might result more in a stream-of-consciousness. The quote is often cited to highlight the importance of precision in communication and the effort it takes to distil complex thoughts or ideas into a brief and effective message. EIE helped me to learn this, and I’d advise anyone involved this time round to ensure they have a straightforward and clear message. You should be authentic and remember that investors can always find a reason not to invest so you need to communicate your conviction as a founder.
My other top tip is to practise the Q&A. Think of the 10 or 15 toughest questions you could possibly be asked about your business and have your responses ready and, if you get a question you can’t or don’t want to answer, you can always pause to say, “That’s a very good question, given commercial sensitivities I’ll perhaps follow up with you over a coffee when I come off the stage.”
So, what has EIE done for Amiqus? Well, we’re making solid progress towards our long term plans, we have a group of active and supportive external investors and we’ve doubled our revenue every year for the last five years. In the last two years consecutively, we’ve been ranked by Deloitte as being in the top 50 fastest growing companies in the UK and top three in Scotland. We now have a team of 60 people spread across the UK. I’m proud that more than two million client onboarding journeys have now been powered by the Amiqus platform, helping people to move home, move jobs, and access legal help or financial products.
I think here in Scotland there’s a ‘grass is always greener’ attitude to investment but the connections you’ll make through EIE will pay off. It is, in my opinion, a flagship event and there’s nothing else quite like it in the UK.